I spend the next half an hour on the phone. I've got to be close to the band, they're practically playing in my backyard! I'm the first one to call about The Eagles, and I'm on 5 waiting lists for seats in the first 5 rows! I won't settle for anything further away than that! The next 2 weeks are torture waiting for tickets to go on sale! Finally, it's Saturday and today I'll find out how close I'm going to be to The Eagles! I call and call and wait and wait. FINALLY! I get the great news, I've got third row seats! I can't believe it! I'm going to be so close!

Now, I'm so psyched! I'm going to be so close to the band! Four days later, I had the tickets in my hot little hands! It's really true, I was going to see The Eagles in person, up close in only 46 days!

The day of the concert it's humid, overcast and a little cool. We get to the Meadows at 7:00. I get in line to get some beer and I overhear the 2 guys in front of me talking. "I wonder if they'll do Lyin' Eyes, that's my favorite song!" "I wonder if it's going to be an acoustic show like the Hell Freezes Over video?" Of course, I have to jump into the conversation! I tell them, of course they do Lyin' Eyes and tell them it's my favorite song and it's definately worth the price of the tickets alone! He agrees, and I tell them The Eagles' ROCK! One guy goes on to say he saw Don Henley a few years ago solo in Atlantic City in one of the casinos! They're both excited to see them!

As it was a benefit for Walden Woods, they were handing out flyers before the show. That made the night extra-special. Don's benefit concert is only once a year, and it was here, in Hartford!

We finally get to our seats and I can't believe it! I'm only 5 feet away from the stage! So close! GREAT! We were right in front of Timothy B. Schmit! We could count all the picks on the microphone stands, all the way down to Joe, we were so close. You see a lot of things being up that close, all the equipment and gear. This is going to be a night to remember!

Finally, the lights go down! Everyone starts clapping and stomping their feet. The strumming on the guitar by Don Felder... this is it!

The lights come up on stage and there they are! I jump up, clapping and look around. NO ONE else is standing up!!! What's going on? Isn't this the greatest band in the world we all came to see?(As it turns out, the Govenor was in the audience and he instructed security not to let anyone obstruct his view! What? Did he pay $400 for tickets? Did he love The Eagles? I don't think so!)

I was taking pictures like crazy. I had to sneak my camera in, as we weren't supposed to take pictures! Security didn't even try to get it away from me, they must've known better!

They proceed to play the same set list as they did in Cincinnati, except they played Peaceful Easy Feelin' instead of Girl From Yesterday. Despite the fact that we couldn't stand up, we were an enthuiastic crowd anyway. Hotel California was wonderful, as usual! Victim of Love and New Kid in Town were great too, but it was going by much too fast! Then it was time for Lyin' Eyes! My heart began to race, to see the spotlight on Glenn, my hands are shaking to get a picture of them singing my favorite song in the whole world! Singing along, this was one of the best moments of my life! Then came One of These Nights, this is too good to be true! To hear these 2 songs back to back 'live' is something I will never forget and will always cherish!

After the intermission, it was time for the acoustic set. They played Tequilla Sunrise first. It was especially perfect that night! Don sang Heart Of The Matter and it was very beautiful and sang it from his heart!

At one point, something happened to Timothy's bass! It was during the acoustic set and he started to panic! We were so close, I could read Don's lips when he told him to "just keep on playing" and he did! Don laughed and said they were having "techincal difficulties!" I have a great picture of Don laughing, Glenn smiling and Timothy looking confused! It's priceless!!

Finally, the crowd gets on it's feet! I'd been ready to rock all night! With everyone on their feet, it was like being in heaven! We were dancing and singing to The Heat Is On and Life's Been Good. Life In The Fastlane rocked, and Don got into Dirty Laundry. Then Don takes the microphone and says, "Let's Dance!" He proceeds to sing All She Wants To Do Is Dance. They turn the video camera on us! It's focused right in front of me, on the girl in the front row! Timothy and Don are watching her dance!! Don really gets into the song, he and Timothy are clapping their hands over their heads, and of course, we were doing the same! Just as in Cincinnati, Don goes to the bongo drums! This is it! You Belong To The City! Our seats are directly in line with Don on the bongo drums! I swear he was looking right at me! Pure magic! He played his heart out on the drums, and Glenn's voice was just perfect! It was another moment I will never forget! Boys of Summer is next! I've seen them twice and I still don't remember them lined up and swaying to this song! I do remember them coming over to left of the stage, directly in front of me, one by one and playing their guitars, 5 feet in front of me! What a thrill!! To see them playing and enjoying us, so close, was a very special Eagle moment! One I'll never forget!

They sounded as great as they did before, even though Don was having throat problems, my friend says she heard Don's voice "crack" on Boys Of Summer! I didn't hear it.

The night was going by much too fast, as I knew it would! When Glenn took to the piano, right in front of us, we knew it was time for Desperado and almost over! Don sang it beautifully and it was great to watch Glenn play up close. When Glenn rushed back onto the stage, wearing brilliant white sneakers, we knew it was just about over! Time for Take It Easy! How could it have gone by so quickly? Everyone was having such a great time, we didn't want it to end. We clapped and sang for what would be the last song of the night!

It was a wonderful, magical night, and very special to me. I only hope they will tour again, and everyone gets to experience the thrill of seeing the best band in the whole world perform live!